Alayna stood motionless, staring at the empty desks in the classroom. Anywhere but at Sebastian. He had since lifted his head to look at her, but did not make the first move.
"What do you want, Sallow?" Alayna eventually asked.
"Come on, don't be like that, Alayna." Sebastian continued to speak quietly. The tone of his voice alone made her want to cave immediately, but she wasn't going to forgive him so easily. "I understand why you've been avoiding me. What happened in the Scriptorium..."
"What about it?" She finally turned to look at him and had to shove down the urge to console him. He looked genuinely depressed. In fact, exactly what she had worried might happen to him if something happened to Anne.
"I...I wasn't sure how to apologize. We had to use that curse and even though we had to it has still been devouring me." Sebastian rubbed at his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. "When I cast it and you...fell to the ground screaming." His face went pale. Had she screamed at the time? She couldn't even remember. It had all just been pain. Sudden realization crossed Alayna's mind as she thought about what Sebastian was saying.
"Like Anne..." Alayna realized. She had sounded like Anne did when she was in pain, but this time it had been Sebastian's fault.
"It was so much worse than that, Alayna. I've never heard someone cry in pain like that. I didn't know what to do." Sebastian took a deep breath before continuing. "I should have apologized, checked to see if you were okay, but I was just panicking. The only thing I could focus on was finding something to help Anne and getting out of there." Alayna glanced towards the ground again. She had to understand where he was coming from. If it had been her in his shoes, she would have been distraught too.
"So I'm apologizing now. And...how are you?" Sebastian asked.
"I'm...alright. Ominis helped a bit." Alayna rubbed at her arm, suddenly very aware of how close they were. Sebastian was only a few inches taller than her, but he felt towering with his hand pressed against the wall near her head. "It's...probably going to take me some time to process all of it." If she was being honest, it could take years to process that kind of pain.
"Right...I'm just glad you're okay. And can we please stop avoiding each other? I miss you." Alayna's eyes shot up to meet Sebastian's trying to figure out his meaning. Was there something more to what he said? Her own cheeks were heated, but it was so hard to tell how Sebastian felt when he would flirt with pretty much anything.
"Yeah, we can. I missed you too." She glanced away again which only lead to her being surprised when Sebastian hugged her. They'd hugged before but she had been the one to initiate it and because she had been feeling sorry for him. This was a different kind of hug, not that she was complaining as she wrapped her arms around him in return. It felt so nice to get a hug when she was so far from home. She missed the hugs from her family and the days they spent together.
"Have you found anything useful yet in Salazar Slytherin's spellbook?" Alayna asked as Sebastian pulled away.
"Not yet, there's a lot to look through in that book. The guy really knew a lot about magic. I've been trying to see if there's anything about ancient magic in there for you too."
"Oh, thanks. I didn't even think about that." Salazar Slytherin had lived hundreds of years before the Keepers and it sounded like ancient magic had once been more prevalent in the wizarding world. Not to mention he sounded like the type of guy to be a little obsessed with power and being able to control ancient magic would have been right up his alley.
"But, like I said, so far nothing," Sebastian sighed. "I promise I'll let you know as soon as I find something useful."
"Of course, take your time." She had seen how thick that book was and had to imagine it was full of very dense material. "If only we could get you to pay this much attention to your studies."
"Oh great, now you're sounding like Ominis," Sebastian groaned and facepalmed. Alayna just laughed. Ominis was right, if Sebastian put half as much effort into his studies as he did researching cures for Anne he would have amazing grades. "Class is boring, this is important."
"Yeah, yeah. You only pay attention to the important classes, like DADA."
"Exactly." Sebastian grinned. It felt good to be interacting like this again, Alayna hadn't realized how much she'd missed their little banter. Although speaking of classes...
"Oh shoot, I was going to do some reading for History of Magic. Nothing I do helps me to stay awake in that class," Alayna whined.
"And nothing ever will, so you should probably stop trying," Sebastian laughed. "I'll let you go though, I should probably do some reading of my own."
"For school, right?" Alayna raised an eyebrow at him.
"Riiight." Sebastian winked and stepped away to allow her to leave the classroom.
Ominis had already dropped his silent treatment against Sebastian, so now that Alayna and him were on good terms again the group returned to spending time together. Although Alayna found herself spending more time one on one with Ominis too. The two had bonded quite a bit through their experience with the Scriptorium and she enjoyed his company. Not in the same way as Sebastian, of course, but they had become good friends. Even closer than before.
"So my parents didn't really have any ideas on how to help you," Alayna started off as she gathered together potion ingredients. She and Ominis were both in the currently empty Potions classroom doing a little tutoring. "But I did have some ideas of my own."
"Whatever you think might help, I'm open to hearing it." Ominis sat on a stool in front of the cauldron station looking rather nervous. She noticed he always looked that way whenever Potions class was brought up. She felt bad for him and could kind of understand how he felt. Potions wasn't a problem for her but Transfiguration was a struggle. Trying to catch up in that class was a nightmare. As much as Professor Weasley encouraged her, she always left feeling bad about her work.
"First idea. Hold out your hand," Alayna instructed and Ominis did as he was told. In his palm, she placed a small, thin tile.
"What is this?" Ominis asked, feeling its edges with his fingers and raising his wand to give a better idea of what he was holding.
"It's a tile. When a potion recipe calls for a few drops of an ingredient, you struggle to keep track of the drops as they fall right? My thought is with this tile you can measure out the drops before putting them in," Alayna explained. "Here." She took the tile back from him and held it up so they could both watch its surface. She picked up a dropper that she had prepared with some leech juice and carefully placed a drop on the tile.
"Can you see the drop on the tile?" Alayna asked.
"It's very small, but I can see its outline." Ominis moved his wand closer to the tile, nearly touching it. "Then I add the drop into the cauldron?"
"Exactly. And you can repeat for however many drops the recipe calls for." Alayna tipped the drop into the cauldron although they had not started a potion recipe yet.
"Huh, I...had not thought of something like this. You are very smart, Alayna." Ominis picked up the dropper and began trying to attempt it himself while Alayna flushed in embarrassment at the compliment.
"It's nothing, really. I grew up making potions after all."
"But this has nothing to do with the normal way of making potions," Ominis pointed out. "It takes some ingenuity to come up with something like this." Successfully placing a drop on the tile, he tipped it into the cauldron.
"I mean...I guess. It's only one thing, but I do hope it helps. It may slow you down a little, but it's not like you're going to be timed." Professor Sharp preferred accuracy over speed and it wasn't like there were many cases where potions could be rushed. Doing so only led to making mistakes which could end with explosions or vastly messed up potions. "There are a few other ideas I have, but I'm not really sure how to make them work. They might require some help from professors."
"Well, they might be willing to help. What are they?"
"Ways to help you with measuring other ingredients as well as helping you see the color of the potion." Color was a very important part of potion making. You had to make sure it was the correct color before adding the next ingredient in some cases. For someone like Ominis, he just had to make guesswork or ask someone to tell him when it was time. Which, when everyone else was busy trying to make their own potions, didn't really work out. "Unfortunately, it would involve a bit of enchanting objects which I don't know how to do." It was not taught in any of the classes she was currently taking and while she had done a little investigating in the library, it all sounded very complicated and was quite advanced magic.
"If you have ideas for all of those, I will happily accompany you to talk to one of the professors for help with them," Ominis sounded impressed and also a bit happy. No one else had spent this much time trying to help him, she thought.
"Do you know if any of the professors have experience with that kind of thing?" There was no enchanting professor and she was still getting to know the Hogwarts professors.
"Maybe Professor Weasley or Ronen?" Ominis suggested.
"Hm, I'm sure either of them would be willing to help. Alright, we can go together sometime and I'll try to explain my ideas."
In the meantime, Alayna had another appointment to uphold that Friday while she was free. Once again, Astronomy class wasn't until later that evening so she was available all day and Natty had asked her to join her once more in her quest to take down Theophilus Harlow. They were meeting again in Lower Hogsfield, apparently there was someone in the hamlet Natty wanted to talk to.
Alayna walked the fairly short distance to the hamlet, coat buttoned up against the wind chill. The trees in the valley were in full color as the leaves changed and were falling to the ground. It wouldn't be too long before they had their first snowfall. She couldn't wait to see the castle in winter with a blanket of snow on the ground. Apparently, Christmas was the best time at Hogwarts for those students who elected to stay at the castle over break. There was even talk of a Yule Ball held for the students. Many came back just for the ball.
But there was still time before that came around. Alayna wasn't quite ready yet to be thinking of what she would get her sister or parents. Normally, they just exchanged handcrafted items, but she thought it would be nice to send them some things from Hogsmeade. Nor was she quite ready to think about spending her first Christmas away from home.
Natty stood waiting for her at the gate to Lower Hogsfield. As she approached, she gave a wave.
"Hey, Natty," Alayna greeted her.
"Alayna, I'm glad you could make it." Natty's smile was huge, which Alayna could only hope didn't spell trouble.
"So, want to explain to me what Harlow is doing in a little hamlet like this? And so close to Hogwarts too."
"Yes, it is concerning. Rookwood and Harlow have no care for anyone in this valley," Natty said. "I heard of a man named Mr. Bickle who lives in this hamlet. Supposedly, he has evidence against Harlow. We need to speak to him and find out what he knows."
"It could be hard. These people have long been terrified by Rookwood and Harlow, it's unlikely they'll be brave enough to speak out against them."
"There is only one way to find out."
"That's true. Alright, lead the way." Alayna followed Natty as they entered the hamlet and headed towards one of the small cottages. Pacing around outside was a crying young woman who looked rather distraught.
"Excuse me, are you Mrs. Bickle? We're looking for your husband." Natty asked. She cast a glance to Alayna at her side, looking a bit worried at the scene they had stumbled into.
"Yes, that's me. But you're too late, my husband...he killed him," the woman wailed.
"Who killed him?" Alayna asked.
"Theophilus Harlow! I'm sure of it. He's been threatening my husband for weeks." Alayna and Natty both looked at each other again with an understanding of the gravity of the situation. Harlow had killed to keep himself out of trouble.
"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Bickle," Alayna said.
"And now my son Archie is missing," Mrs. Bickle wailed again.
"Your son? Do you think Harlow took him?" Natty asked anxiously.
"Archie was home with his father...but his satchel is missing. I can't be certain, I just hope he's out wandering like he's prone to do."
"Poor kid..." Alayna muttered. It was possible he'd seen what had happened and either been taken by Harlow and his men or had fled.
"Do you know where he might have gone?" Natty posed. "We could go look for him."
"He has a little hideout in the forest south of here. Please, if you do find him tell him to come home right away," Mrs. Bickle wiped at her cheeks.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Bickle. We'll find him," Natty tried to assure the woman. She gave a small wave to Alayna and they headed to the south of the hamlet.
"I hope Archie is alright..." Alayna said as they walked.
"Me too. Officer Singer told me about Mr. Bickle when I took the letter we found to her. Apparently, he was doing the same thing we were and trying to find evidence against Harlow. I hoped to speak with him about what he'd found, but it appears we were too late..."
"I hate to say it, but maybe Officer Singer will get involved now that he's killed someone," Alayna suggested.
"Except no one saw that it was him, so there's still no evidence. Unless Archie saw..." Natty didn't continue, but Alayna knew what she meant. She hoped that Archie hadn't seen, but at the same time it would help them present a case against Harlow if he had. They were still lacking evidence, which Harlow was apparently working hard to erase.
The pair delved into the trees to the south of the hamlet following a winding path that led through them. It didn't take them long before they happened upon the hideout Mrs. Bickle had mentioned. The hideout was a whole tent setup with some sort of large skeleton nearby. Alayna thought it might have been a small dragon given the skeleton wings at its sides. Drawings and toys had been strewn across the ground as if someone had been searching the place.
"It looks like they might have followed him here," Alayna suggested.
"It does look that way. We should hurry then, he might be in trouble." Natty drew out her wand and cast Revelio in the space. "There, footprints!" They hurried after the trail of footprints, casting Revelio every once in a while to keep on the right path.
As they came into a clearing in the forest, Natty threw out her arm to stop Alayna for a moment. Walking through the open space and around a small pond was a whole herd of thestrals. Alayna had never seen a whole herd of them before, nor had she seen them at all until recently.
"You can see them too?" Alayna twisted her head to Natty as it struck her what the girl had done.
"Yes, I...was there when my father died." Natty lowered her arm, looking at the ground.
"I'm so sorry, Natty." Alayna placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay. When I saw a thestral for the first time, I felt comforted by it. I still do. They are beautiful, are they not?"
"Yes, they are." She hadn't thought about it that way. Thestrals were a reminder of death, but perhaps they were a reminder that they were not alone in their grief. Alayna wished she could use her nabsack to rescue some of them from the poachers who certainly hunted them, but there were other things to focus on right now.
"Let's keep moving. Archie can't be far," Natty said. They entered the clearing, walking through the herd of thestrals. Rather than run, they simply carried on with what they were doing or turned their heads to watch as they passed by.
Archie's footprints continued and they even found the satchel his mother said he had taken with him. He must have lost it or tossed it away, which only confirmed for Alayna that he was being pursued. Otherwise, he would be more careful with it.
It wasn't too much farther before they spotted smoke and came upon a poacher campsite. Archie would have run right into it or he had been taken there.
"He must be in the camp," Alayna said, only hoping that Harlow had not done anything to the child already. She and Natty hunkered down amongst some trees to watch the camp and decide their next move.
"We have to go in and get him. Who knows what they plan to do to him," Natty said.
"Then what's the plan? Just run in and attack?" The way the poachers and the camp was positioned, stealthing would be difficult. It was in an open field in broad daylight and the poachers were all close together. Take one out and the others would immediately realize what was going on.
"How good are your ranged spells? We could try casting at them from up here." They were at a slightly elevated position looking down into the camp.
"Mm, I guess they're alright. Confringo is really the only ranged spell I have so far." She might be able to use ancient magic at this distance, but her plan had been to throw rocks scattered across the field. Rather big rocks and she was a little worried about potentially hitting Archie if he was somewhere in the camp.
"Leave it to me and once they start to come a bit closer you can hit them," Natty suggested.
"Sounds like a plan. Ready?" Alayna held up her wand, stepping behind a tree to use as partial cover. Natty raised her wand and stood tall too as she focused on the camp below them. Even from where they stood it was pretty far away, she wasn't sure her Confringo spell would even reach. She trusted in Natty's abilities, especially as they were about to enter battle together.
---
Okay, I totally have no excuse for not posting Wednesday. It just completely slipped my mind and was super late before I even thought about it again. That being said, I may be moving down to one chapter a week for a bit. I've had a lot of other things to think about lately that writing is a little bit of a struggle. I want to keep pushing through with this story though because really we're almost halfway there AND I need to actually complete a project for once geez.
Thanks as always to my lovely readers for your votes.
-Marvel